Establishing and maintaining a 5-star reputation for your medical practice

Online reviews are the most influential resource for patients seeking care, with seven out of ten patients relying on them as part of their healthcare decision.

Due to an increase in the number of patients searching online for healthcare information, as well as increased local competition, businesses must have a strong set of online reviews.

The Importance of Your Online Reputation

The patient-doctor relationship is more in control than it has ever been.

Patients now have access to a wealth of new information previously limited to conversations with their family, friends, and doctor thanks to the proliferation of third-party healthcare websites, including numerous sites dedicated to reviewing providers and their practices. When they arrive at your office, they'll probably know more about you than you do about them.

What's up with that? Patients can now shop for a healthcare provider online in the same way they shop for a hotel or restaurant. Millennials are already participating in online conversations about their healthcare experiences. Even if they aren't yet your target demographic, their preference for online interactions, including their love for and reliance on online ratings and reviews to make decisions, will undoubtedly continue to grow as they get older. Millennials aren't the only ones who have turned to the internet for health care. In fact, patients of all ages are turning to the internet for health-related information. Wait until you see how widely the internet is being used to defraud people.

Patient Acquisition and Managing Online Reputation Go Hand In Hand

Your medical practice's growth is influenced by your bedside manner, patient referrals, and reputation among colleagues. Building and maintaining a positive reputation has always been an important part of achieving the career, business, or practice you desire. For healthcare professionals, reputation management has always been critical.

You should be able to stay on top of online doctor reviews and ensure that the good outweighs the bad if you have the right reputation management strategies in place. It takes work, and PatientMD can do it for you. 

How PatientMD can help you take your reputation to the next level?

1. Control your name in more locations online

Many practices simply don’t realize this is important. PatientMD will ensure your practice owns as many online properties with the name of your practice as possible. That means having a Facebook and LinkedIn account, as well as Twitter and YouTube accounts–any properties your office can manage. Of course, it’s important to have an easy-to-find website optimized for SEO as well, something you may need help with from a healthcare digital marketing specialist like PatientMD.

2. Keep up your social media presence

The fact that you own those various properties on other sites is only half of the story. If you want to expand your practice, you must manage them. Post on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms on a regular basis to help patients find your brand. To improve your reputation, interact with patients, respond to comments, and answer questions. PatientMD can help you in managing these accounts from time to time through which positive interactions can outweigh the negative. 

3. Feature 4 and 5-star doctor ratings on your website

Allow potential patients to learn more about your company and see positive doctor reviews right on your website. You can incorporate customer reviews into your website. PatientMD can manage reviews internally and reach the right patients at the right time.

4. Encourage patient reviews

Encourage patients to leave positive reviews on Yelp or Google, but do so with caution. Same-day emails are a great way to stay in touch with patients after they've left the office and had a chance to reflect on the positive aspects of their visit. If you send the email to a dissatisfied customer, however, you risk receiving negative feedback that you won't be able to remove. It's unlikely that office staff will be able to tell which patients were happy and which were not, which is why you'll need to automate your doctor ratings.

5. Be “proactive” not “reactive” for negative reviews

These reviews can have a significant impact on customers and may even affect a physician's overall success rating. Physicians must accept the fact that some negative or critical reviews will inevitably be written about them. Dealing with the reviews in a positive way allows the physician and the patients to communicate more easily. Don't be afraid of professional online interaction, and learn how to combat negative online reviews the "right way.”

The online reputation of a physician is extremely fragile, and it must be carefully managed. Physicians can no longer afford to be silent spectators in this era of patient-driven health. Reviews and ratings on the internet have become critical in keeping your appointment book full. Utilize the power of reviews to strengthen your practice's brand and increase patient numbers.

PatientMD is a unified platform that orchestrates and personalizes patient engagement with a variety of digital tools in order to improve the patient experience and healthcare providers' outcomes. PatientMD enhances your online reputation by generating positive reviews. Furthermore, the business dashboard assists in providing detailed reports on your patients' sentiments. In addition, we provide you with online insights on how to raise brand awareness.